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hotels: useful + agreeable approved hotels include both the drake and the gladstone, near each other on the western end of toronto's famous "queen st. west". they are two of the best examples of converted "design" or boutique hotels we've come across in our extensive travels around the globe.
stay at the drake for high style and quality, or choose the gladstone for a great, fun scene, and a too rare mixing of old clientele and new. we can't think of another hotel conversion in the world where the old bar patrons seem to have simply lifted their beers and their boots, while renovations took place around them. hank, former country singer, elevator operator and unofficial hotel spokesperson (pictured above) personifies this character, and entertains with stories longer than the elevator ride. all this, plus karaoke in our room (filmed footage of my karaoke performance may one day end up on youtube, but will never appear on ua.tv!).
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queen of queen st. west:
we caught up with toronto's "queen of cake", dufflet rosenberg
(above), who could also be known as the queen of queen st. west.
dufflet's original cafe was among the first to make the
street the destination it is today.
we met dufflet in the drake hotel cafe and heard about her upcoming drinks and desserts emporium in the beaches district (designed by partner martin kohn of local architecture firm kohn shnier), and her "small indulgences" line available in select fine foods stores in north america (packaging designed by bruce mau). she also offers her suggestions for nearby dining options: the niagara st. cafe and cocoa.
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design: major canadian and international architects have benefited from toronto's architecture boom of recent years. take a walk starting at will alsop's striking design for ontario school of art and design (above); then on to frank gehry's addition underway at the art gallery of ontario; and through the university of toronto campus which has works by leading firms kohn shnier, architects in association, and foster and partners among others.
just north of the campus is kpmb's gardiner museum, housing jamie kennedy's restaurant, and across the street, daniel libeskind's bold extension to (read: explosion from) the royal ontario museum, opening june 2007.
many recognized local designers and design shops are found on king street east, and the gooderham & worts distillery district. for an extensive listing of toronto's design scene, pick up a copy of azure magazine's "designlines toronto".
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